The Fourth Wall
by Stefan-sama
Summary: Sakura and Tsukushi visit Ken and Ryu, but with a little twist- the latter brings over a copy of Street Fighter IV, and the group starts playing over Windows Live.


**I originally wrote this to vent my frustrations over fighting Live with Street Fighter IV. It's nice playing against someone who actually has a shred of honor. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen very often. Because of that, I'm forced to search out the same player repeatedly, but that often makes them think I just want BP, so they boot me. It's all very frustrating. Anyway, some of the characters in this piece might not seem in character, but I did my best to fit the situation, so please tell me how I did. Enjoy!**

**The Fourth Wall**

Whenever Ryu managed to find Ken's house (and that meant feeling like finding Ken's house first), the two would meet each other halfway, hug each other, then instantly proceed to beating the stuffing out of each other. After about an hour or so of that, they would come inside, tired, and Eliza would make them lunch. Most likely an eating contest would ensue, then much belching, and then they would simply adjourn to the living room and mold. That was how Sakura and her brother, Tsukushi, found them as they dropped in: slumped back on the couches and drooling.

While the little boy went over to the television and started fiddling with it, Sakura stepped over and promptly lifted up both Ryu and Ken's ears and yelled her loudest into them, causing the two warriors to yelp and sit up. "Geez, you two!" she shouted, putting her hands on her hips in front of the cowering fighters. "I come all the way from Japan to see you two, and what do I find?! A couple of near-drunken layabouts!"

"S-Sorry, Sakura…" Ken grinned nervously, turning to face her, and slapped Ryu across the face a few times for good measure. "What are you doing here, anyway…? I thought you were on your summer break."

"Exactly," she replied with a frown, slinging around her backpack and digging about inside it. "My parents saw the opportunity to go on some kind of trip. They said that I could stay with however I wanted. Karin's gone to Europe, so I came here. Your secretary kept telling me 'Mr. Masters accepts business calls at this number only' and nothing else. I didn't know your home phone, so I couldn't tell you in advance. So here I am, but my parents also told me to do whatever Tsukushi wanted, and all he does is play these stupid fighting video games all day, and that's why I'm so pissed."

The kid looked up from his wires, grinning at his sister. "That's what you think. Remember when you entered that tournament with those S.I.N. people?" Ken and Ryu looked at each other, and they, with Sakura, nodded collectively. "Well, the media got hold of the records somehow, and they gave them to the game company, Capcom, and now, following extensive research, humankind has been blessed with the holiness that is Street Fighter IV!" He bent down and flipped a switch, and the screen came to life.

Following a few logos flashing, an announcer repeated the game's title, then took the party to a loading screen that blared out "SIGNING INTO WINDOWS LIVE SERVICE". Ken and Ryu expressed mild interest, though Sakura expressed a but less. They waited a minute. Ken rested his head in his elbows. They waited another minute. Ryu checked the dirt under his fingernails. Yet another minute passed. Sakura picked her nose and wiped it on her skirt. Finally, the login finished, much to the amusement of the four, which quickly returned to dismay as the screen displayed a circle composed of rotating dots, along with the message "Checking for Downloadable Content".

"Dammit!" Ken groaned, resting his temple in his palm. "How long is it going to take before we get to play the game? I want to see myself beating up Seth again!"

Ryu snorted.

While Ken and Ryu began squabbling once again, the load gave way to the main menu. Despite Ken's index and middle fingers being stuck up Ryu's nose, and the latter pulling at the former's cheek, they paused mid-fight to see the game. Ryu spoke first in a voice of proud indignation. "Hey!" he protested, seeing his image. "I know that fame often gives way to falsities, but my nose is _not_ that big!"

Ken snorted.

As the two started fighting again, Sakura took the opportunity to pick up the controller and go to Training Mode. Naturally, she picked Ryu and pulled up the command list, giving the real Ryu ample reason to laugh in Ken's pouting face. Memorizing the combo, she went back to the game and attempted to pull off a _H__adouken._

"Quarter-circle forward, punch… _Hadouken_!!!"

The character crouched, moved forward slightly, and punched. Dan laughed in his face, showing off his glistening white teeth and flashing a thumbs-up. Sakura tried it again to the same result, except everyone there could have sworn Dan laughed louder. And again. And again. And again, each time with the same result.

Throwing the plastic controller to the ground with a clack, Sakura blew up in a fit of rage. "What is this?! I put the combo in right every time! Why won't it work?! What a crappy d-pad!"

Tsukushi shrugged, closing his eyes almost mockingly. "Don't get mad. For once, I won't blame it on your skill. It _is_ the Xbox 360, after all." He bent down, taking something else out of his backpack. "I didn't want to use it, since it's so expensive, but I suppose it's necessary here." He plugged in another controller to the console. "Just like in the arcades."

"_Tasumaki_, _Hadouken_, _Shoryuken_…" Ken narrated, flipping through the instruction manual. "Ooh, even_ Shoryureppa _and _Shinryuken_! Pretty accurate!" He leapt off the couch and took the board with a grin. "Alright, let's give this a go!" He went ahead and moved to Live Battle mode, picking the first battle he saw. Tsukushi went for ready, and the group waited anxiously for the other player to do the same. However, they were simply greeted by the message "The host of this match has kicked you from the match. Search again?"

Ken's face contorted to that of confusion and anger. "What the hell?! I didn't do anything! Why'd he boot me?!"

Once again, the younger Kasugano shrugged. "I dunno, some people just boot for no reason. Try another match." Still irked, Ken tried matching up with another player. He did so, but was met yet again by the same fate. Ken nearly screamed, but attempted to regain his composure, much to Ryu's amusement, with a few long, deep breaths. After a couple seconds, he built up the patience to try once again, this time, with success as his reward. Everyone cheered, then became bored yet again.

"Tsukushi, how many load times does this game have…?" Sakura asked, her half-lidded eyes staring blankly at the black T.V. "The gameplay itself looks better than what you usually play, but this is just ridiculous…"

The boy reached for a notebook in his pocket with the word "troubleshooting" written in large black letters across the front and thumbed through it. He mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, then traced a few words on the page with his finger. "A slow load time over Live probably indicates that your opponent hasn't installed the game to the hard drive." He closed the book, sighing. "It's the other guy's fault, he's making the load time much longer."

Ken smirked, clutching the board even harder. "Then when I beat him, he'll get what's coming to him!" Everyone leaned closer as the fight began. Ken's Ken, being 2P, was positioned on the right. Ryu whistled at the accuracy of the stance, but along with Ken began groaning when 1P, a Sagat player, instantly started spamming Low Tiger Shot. The shouts of the enemy quickly got annoying, but as Ken blocked, he got a feel for the rhythm, and jumped over each one, getting closer every time.

That is, until Sagat switched to High Tiger Shot, sending Ken backwards, caught in the flame. Tiger Knee Crush instantly followed, catching him in midair and pummeling him to a crisp. And the second Ken got up, a waiting Tiger Uppercut caught him right in the jaw for a K.O.

"Hmm…" Ryu muttered, stroking his chin in thought. "Certainly not an honorable fighter, unlike the real Sagat." He turned to his friend. "Hey, Ken, give me a try, you've had your fun." The blonde man swore, threw the pad on the ground, got back up on the couch, and assumed both the attitude and posture of a spoiled child whose dessert privileges had been revoked. Smiling and patting his friend's back, Ryu got up and sat down in front of the pad in a position not dissimilar to a meditating Dhalsim.

This time, Ryu was the one to start the fight, going to the lobby. In a couple of seconds, a challenger appeared, and they were taken to character select. He waited a few seconds to get accustomed to the controls in his hands, but strangely enough, neither did his opponent, though the guy was certainly not a newbie. Wanting to experience fighting from one of his opponent's shoes, Ryu chose to play as Zangief. The very second after this pick, the opponent sprang to pick Blanka. Everyone thought this odd, but they had no time to ponder it further, as the fight began.

Right off the bat, Blanka started with a Rolling Attack, hitting Ryu before he had a chance to jump. In retaliation, he attempted to use Spinning Piledriver, but was stopped with Electric Thunder, once again throwing Zangief/Ryu to the ground. And he kept using Electric Thunder, though he moved closer. And every time he got up, he was knocked back down. And eventually he was driven to the corner, so he had absolutely no chance of getting back up with Zangief's gigantic body and slow moves.

In a couple seconds, a K.O. was reached. Ryu attempted to keep his composure, but was failing rather hard. In his attempt, he searched up another match, and was matched up with another player instantly. This one picked El Fuerte, and this time, Ryu was wise enough to go with the game's version of himself.

When the game began, taking in mind the last match's disaster, he began with a block, but his enemy instantly used a Habanero Back Dash, which became a Tostada Press, breaking through the block and pinning Ryu to the ground. Once he got up, Ryu tried to chase after the luchador, but the man ran around willy-nilly, avoiding all of Ryu's attacks with ease. However, right before his punch was about to connect, the screen displayed the words "TIME OUT" and took him to the results screen. He turned to Tsukushi questioningly.

The boy slapped his forehead with his palm, groaning. "It's a cheap trick, but it's used pretty darn often. He set the time to 30 seconds with one round, and ran away after giving you damage. What a bastard!"

Sakura grabbed her brother in a chokehold and rubbed his head with her knuckles furiously. "Tsukushi! Who taught you that kind of language?!" He protested loudly, but refused to give answers. Instead, he tossed the pad back to Ken, who, again acting like a child, took it gleefully and started another match. At Tsukushi's advice, he challenged another player who had no icon or title, the boy claiming that implied they were new to the game, matching Ken's skill level.

The match began, and Ken instantly attacked Chun-Li with a _Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku_, following it up with a two-hit kick, which turned into a throw, and the second Chun-Li got back up, he hit her right in the stomach with a focus attack, and as she fell, she was hit with an EX _Shoryuken_. This took out much of her health bar, and for the rest of the match they traded blocks and blows, and there was a nasty catch with her _Hosenka _ultra combo, but it was too far gone for Ken _not _to win. The round won, all four of the group cheered, then waited anxiously to see how the next round would fare.

Instantly, Chun-Li sprang forward and used a _Hazanshu_, catching Ken for a focus attack of her own, which she caught in a _Hyakuretsukyaku_. That turned into a Spinning Bird Kick, and she used a ferocious combination of kicks and jumps to dominate him into K.O.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats for the final round, but there was no question about the winner. Chun-Li opened with _Senretsukyaku_, and a few _kikoken_ ensured her victory, which was sealed with a throw and one last kick. Ken gaped as the results screen showed his second loss. "Now what happened?! I totally kicked her ass in the first round!"

Sakura piped up. "Well, I guess she used reverse psychology, considering Tsukushi was so confident in the no icon/no title thing, and took it even further by faking out the first round." She frowned, crossing her arms. "Man, the other people in this game are really jerks!"

Ryu nodded, Ken groaned, and Tsukushi did both, all in consensus.

Interrupting, Eliza stuck her head around the corner. "Lunch is ready, everyone!"

Collectively cheering, everyone filed into a line and went into the dining room. Ryu, closing his eyes, nodded to himself as they entered. "I think I like these video games, but please, after lunch, not this one again." Sakura and Ken grinned at this, also nodding.

"Fine by me," Tsukushi piped up, pulling another package out of his shoulder bag as Eliza reached over his head and set a large plate of egg rolls and fried rice in front of him. "Cuz I found this really old game in the back of this store, and I thought you all might like it, since it's also got you in it." He held up a box emblazoned with a blonde, military-style haircut, sunglasses, and a metal suit employing some sort of energy punch against a purple robot. The boy puffed himself up proudly. "Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight! Oftentimes employed amongst gamers with the subtitle 'Ken in 2010!"

Ken choked on his rice, spraying it everywhere as he beat his chest wildly. His coughs subsiding, he stared at the boy in disbelief, food still dripping and hanging from his mouth.

"_Excuse me_?!"


End file.
